What It Means To Be Fearless
by ReconditeAgony
Summary: Nikki Bella reflects on her difficult journey to get back to the ring, which had brought many fears for her. During this, she begins to realize that fearlessness is more than just not being afraid of anything.


**Hey guys! After recently posting my more comical story about the Bellas, I have here a more serious story about them. And yes, this has to do with the "fearless" part of Nikki. Interestingly, the inspiration for this story came from two different Thomas the Tank Engine episodes (yes, I've watched Thomas the Tank Engine when I was a kid). Those episodes being** _ **Missing Gator**_ **and** _ **Thomas, Percy, and the Dragon**_ **. And yes, I know you're about to ask me how the heck does a show like that manage to inspire a story not even related to and that. The main reason is the subject of fear and bravery. I think it heavily applies over Nikki's character, considering the stuff she went through, neck injury wise.**

 **Oh, and if you're wondering when the next chapters are coming for my other stories I have yet to update, it's all coming. I've been sidetracked by these oneshots and Becky's "heel turn" as well as college stuff. They'll come soon though. Thanks for bearing with me!**

 **-ReconditeAgony :)**

Most people assume that being fearless is not being afraid of anything that's thrown in front of them or just being brave in general. That may be the case in some extent. However, some of the bravest people were afraid.

That was very much the case for Smackdown superstar Nikki Bella even though at the moment, she didn't realize it.

She was in the women's locker room, standing in front of a mirror with little to no other human interaction. Why, you ask? Nikki was heavily reflecting on herself and everything she had been through prior to coming to Smackdown.

The first and biggest thing that swam inside of her head was the way she defined fearless. It was very much like how any typical person would define fearless.

She could vividly remember herself saying, "I wear this shirt with the word fearless on it because I'm not afraid of anything! Not a Boss, not a Queen, and I'm sure as hell not afraid of some princess from Staten Island" to her rival, Carmella.

However, despite this, the Bella twin began to remember how scared she was ever since she took time off over her neck injury in October. The very injury that haunted her for quite a number of reasons. However, only a few stuck out to her.

The first reason being was if she was ever going to step into the ring again when she had surgery. The worrying thoughts that plagued her mind to the point that it was enough to affect her twin, Brie.

The second was that how was Nikki going to continue her style when she very vividly remembered her doctor telling her that her finisher, The Rack Attack was too intense for her. Nikki was distraught of having to discontinue the use of the move because it did put quite a bit of weight on her neck and spine. However, ever since she returned, she did create an alternate Rack Attack 2.0 which did much more justice for her.

The third and the biggest thing the fearless Bella twin had racing in her head was that everything she fought for nearly ten years would've almost been taken from her in about a week at the longest. She before realized that this kind of fear didn't just apply to her relationships. However, this particular subject needs more than one paragraph to go into the details because putting it in this one paragraph is too much.

Nikki's shin injury back in 2013 had sidelined her from June to October, which deeply pained her. Although, much to her own relief that it wasn't enough to threaten her career. Still, the injury haunted her mind by plaguing it with worrying thoughts about her status in the company. Even valeting was harder than she thought with the times she was thrown off the card, fearing that her time on TV would be jeopardized.

The most recent thing that the Bella twin was forced to endure was her neck injury that ultimately led to her needing surgery. Her hiatus due to her neck injury started shortly after Hell In A Cell 2015 and it haunted her greatly to this day. It wasn't just the injury itself that scared her. It was the fact that her injury was feared to potentially become career-ending and it had done enough to upset her.

Neck injuries were no joke and Nikki knew this. It came to get quite a few superstars including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Edge, Tyson Kidd, and most recently Paige. The paranoia about the neck injury that nearly ended her career kept running back and forth in her head.

Nikki chuckled humorlessly to herself for no reason but that was the least of her worries. She was just completely overwhelmed from everything that she went through. The neck injury though overwhelmed her the most.

She could very vividly remember talking to her mother while on the verge of tears, saying that she didn't want her match at Hell In A Cell last year to be her last match when she didn't make the decision herself. She remembered experiencing neck pains about two months before becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion and how much it was affecting her. The tears of anguish that fell from her face during the conversation with her mother was enough to make her realize something.

Nikki's fear of having everything taken away from her was beyond relationships. It boiled down between her and her career. The journey to recovery wasn't easy to say the least. It did enough that she had to change several aspects about herself.

The Bella twin was just about to do a last-minute check with her hair when she heard footsteps. She looked up to see her twin sister Brie standing behind her, eyes wide with profound concern.

"You hanging in there, Nicole?" asked Brie.

Nikki hesitated before giving a sure answer. She felt physically okay but her mental and emotional sides said a different story. She had never felt this unsure in her life about something like this. She wasn't even sure how to answer this kind of question.

However, she did muster up the courage to speak.

"I guess to tell you the truth, I'm just overwhelmed," she answered, the stress clear and evident in her voice.

Brie put a hand on her sister's shoulder as she saw her expression of defeat.

"I know," she replied. "You've been through a lot. Neck injuries aren't easy to recover from."

Nikki looked up at Brie, her expression softening up a bit.

"Brie, I think I realized something."

Brie eyed her twin in confusion, wondering what this was leading to.

"I realized that maybe fearless is something more than just the obvious," continued Nikki. "I was sure that fearless meant not being afraid of anything. However, that isn't always the case, especially in my case with my neck injury. I was afraid of possibly retiring without the choice to do so. In a nutshell, being fearless for me is having to face what I very much feared, that being having something taken from me."

Brie was surprised to say the least when she heard this from her twin sister but at the same time, it made her happy that Nikki was coming to grips with how much things had changed.

"That's very accurate for you," chuckled Brie. "You're a strong ass woman."

Both twins laughed at the statement. Nikki though couldn't agree any more than she already was. She realized that it was okay to admit that even though she was afraid at times, she showed that she was able to face what could've potentially happened to her.

Nikki Bella had to face her fear of potentially having her hard work taken from her over an injury in order to become truly fearless. That was the meaning of fearless for her.


End file.
